The groundwater around the Bandhwari landfill site has been rendered unfit for human and animal consumption, with every single water and leachate sample collected over the past 12 months failing laboratory tests — a damning indictment of years of regulatory non-compliance by the Municipal Corporation (MC). The civic body has now drawn prosecution cases, mounting fines and National Green Tribunal intervention.
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has imposed a compensation of Rs 6.3 crore on the MC for violations at the Bandhwari landfill site since April 2020, at the rate of Rs 10 lakh per month, in compliance with NGT orders. Of this, the MCG has deposited only Rs 2.8 crore, leaving Rs 3.5 crore unpaid.
Under Pollution Control Board norms, a technical team collects water and leachate samples every month from the landfill site, surrounding tubewells and borewells, and sends them to a government laboratory for testing. All 80-plus samples collected over the past year have failed on every parameter — with chemical compounds and heavy metals found at several times the permissible limit.
Scientific studies have confirmed that contaminants from the landfill site have made their way into the groundwater of surrounding areas, with parameters including total dissolved solids, total hardness, chemical oxygen demand and heavy metals including cadmium and lead exceeding both Bureau of Indian Standards and World Health Organisation limits — despite the quartzite geological setup and deep aquifer structure of the area.
The NGT has flagged that no arrangements for proper leachate treatment existed at the site, and that leachate was instead being released into manholes leading to public sewers without testing, in violation of Environmental Protection Rules. The MC had claimed the landfill generates around 200 kilolitres of leachate per day, but data from the Behrampur sewage treatment plant showed only 125.2 kilolitres was received in June 2025 — raising concerns over the unaccounted volume.
Environmentalists allege that toxic leachate was being dumped openly into the Aravalli forests, not only threatening wildlife but also percolating into the water table. Residents of Bandhwari, Gwalpahari and Mangar have reported a sharp rise in cases of cancer, skin diseases and gastrointestinal illness.
Urban Local Bodies Minister Vipul Goel said the government would review all reports related to the Bandhwari site and that agencies contracted for the work would be penalised for non-performance. A senior official of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board said leachate disposal at Bandhwari was being carried out as per norms.
Executive Engineer Sandeep Singh Sihag maintained that leachate was being disposed of in compliance with rules.
